“No. It’s mine.”
There was silence.
Then Daniel said, “Mom.”
His voice had changed.
“What?”
“
You need to come here.”
“Why?”
“Jenna left.”
“What do you mean?”
“She said she’s meeting a friend.”
“And?”
“I followed her location.”
“Where is she?”
He sent me a screenshot.
My stomach dropped.
Jenna wasn’t at the Fairfield Inn.
She wasn’t with a friend.
She wasn’t downtown.
She was at my father’s land.
Forty-two acres of woods.
An abandoned hunting lodge.
The property Mark was trying to use as collateral.
I drove there immediately.
Daniel came separately.
We parked half a mile down the gravel road and walked through the trees.
The old lodge appeared between the pines.
And there they were.
Mark’s car.
Jenna’s car.
Daniel’s face turned gray.
But then we saw the third vehicle.
A black SUV.
Neither of us recognized it.
Voices came from inside the lodge.
We moved closer.
A broken window on the east side gave us a view into the main room.
Mark stood near the fireplace.
Jenna sat at the table.
And across from them sat a man in a dark suit.
He had a folder open.
Maps.
Documents.
Something that looked like architectural plans.
Daniel leaned toward the broken window.
Mark spoke first.
“Once Carol signs, it’s done.”
The stranger tapped the papers.
“And if she refuses?”
Mark smiled.
I had never seen that smile before.
“She won’t.”
Jenna laughed softly.
My son flinched beside me.
Then the stranger turned a page.
“The development company needs clear title. No complications.”
Development company.
I stared at the maps.
Forty-two acres.
Near the new highway extension.
My supposedly worthless land.
The stranger continued.
“Current valuation after rezoning is approximately 3.6 million.”
Daniel grabbed my arm.
My knees nearly gave out.
Three point six million dollars.
Mark knew.
Jenna knew.
That was what this was about.
Not perfume.
Not romance.
Money.
Mark
leaned against the table.
“Monday she signs. After that, we move forward.”
Jenna smiled.
“And Daniel?”
My son went completely still.
Mark’s answer came without hesitation.
“Daniel won’t be a problem.”
I felt Daniel’s fingers tighten around my arm.
Jenna looked uncertain.
“You’re sure?”
Mark laughed.
“He’s my son. I know exactly how to handle him.”
Then the man in the suit opened another folder.
“There’s still the issue of Arthur Bennett’s original trust.”
My father’s name.
My heart stopped.
Mark’s expression changed.
“What issue?”
The stranger looked at him.
“The restriction clause.”
“What restriction clause?”
The stranger read from the document.
“Transfer of the northern parcel is prohibited unless approval is obtained from all named surviving beneficiaries.”
Mark frowned.
“Carol is the only beneficiary.”
The man shook his head.
“No.”
There was a terrible silence.
Jenna leaned forward.
“What do you mean, no?”
The stranger turned the document around.
“
There are two.”
Mark stared at it.
“That’s impossible.
